


Small Rooms Don't Get As Cold

by Yitzock



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018)
Genre: Boys Being Boys, Cold Weather, Gen, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Shenanigans, rockfield farm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 09:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18385895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yitzock/pseuds/Yitzock
Summary: Paul said that small room don't get as cold as big ones, but John didn't expect that that would mean his room would be the most coveted at Rockfield Farm.





	1. Small Rooms Don't Get As Cold

**Author's Note:**

> As with my last BoRhap story, this is written without meaning any disrespect for the real members of Queen. This is based on their film counterparts.

Their arrival at Rockfield Farm was fairly unceremonious, if only because of the peacefulness of the environment in the country, far from the noises of the city. Just as unceremoniously, Paul told them of their room assignments. Freddie smiled when Paul said his room was the biggest, happy that he would have room for his all things and to stretch out while he was writing.

His happiness at having the biggest room in the house soon went away after they had been there for a few days. That night was unexpectedly cold, a strong wind blowing against the walls and howling down the chimney. Being the biggest room, with a big window, and on the top floor of the house, Freddie’s room was not very warm.

He tossed and turned, pulling the blankets tightly around him to try and warm himself up, but it wasn’t helping very much. He wondered how the others were doing, so he got up and went out to the hall.

Roger’s room was right next to his. Freddie stood with his head close to the door and listened. If he stayed perfectly still, he could hear Roger breathing deeply – sound asleep. He walked over to the other side of the hall and listened at Brian’s. He heard the same thing. They must not have been as bothered, for he knew that their rooms weren’t that much smaller than his. Maybe Brian’s hair kept his head warm.

Freddie headed down to the kitchen. He considered making a hot cup of tea, but the kettle might make too much noise and he didn’t want to wake anybody up. And he didn’t really want tea, just the warmth. He considered going to Paul’s room, but he could be snippy enough after a proper sleep. Who knows what he would be like if he was woken up in the middle of the night.

Then he remembered something. John had mentioned his room was the smallest in the house, down in the basement. Freddie left the kitchen and started creeping quietly down the rickety stairs.

* * *

John woke up when he felt the weight of another body next to him on the bed. When he rolled over, he was met by Freddie’s piercing eyes.

He shuffled back with surprise.

“What are you doing here?” John said in a shouted whisper.

“Small rooms don’t get as cold.”

“OK, Paul.”

“I’m serious,” Freddie whispered. “It’s cold upstairs tonight. Much nicer here.”

“Is that all you really want, Freddie? Because if there’s something else, I can’t give it to you.”

“I just wanted to warm up. Please let me stay.”

John looked at Freddie under the blankets as he considered the situation. Freddie seemed to be telling the truth. John lowered himself back down on the bed and pulled the blankets up.

“OK,” he said. “But if you snore or hog all the blankets you’re out of here.”

He rolled over so his back was to Freddie and closed his eyes to try to sleep.

After moment he felt a light touch.

“Freddie?”

“Your hair is soft. I’ve never noticed before.”

“This isn’t a sleepover – ”

“Technically, it is. I’m in your bed.”

“Go to sleep, Freddie.”

Freddie huddled up a little closer and they both went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, John made sure he was the first to get up, and got Freddie out of bed with him, in the hopes that this would prevent anyone from noticing that they both came from the same room. He wanted to prevent any teasing that may come of it, knowing that they really did only sleep and that the others could be ruthless. Freddie protested, wanting to sleep more, but John persuaded him to force himself out of bed.

The plan seemed to work, with the morning going normally as Brian and Roger each in turn joined them in the kitchen for breakfast after John and Freddie had already made their way there.

“It was cold last night, eh?” Brian said as he took his first sips of coffee for the day.

Roger nodded in agreement. The last to get up, he was still a little drowsy.

“It was nice and warm downstairs,” John said.

“Isn’t that what Paul said to you when we got here?” Freddie asked, looking at John like he was trying to make him laugh or reveal in some other way what they did the night before. John was ready to accept the challenge and kept up his poker face.

“He was right this time,” John said nonchalantly.

* * *

The next night was another cold one. Brian, who had managed to sleep the night before, found himself struggling to get comfortable and warm. He had had trouble the first night, despite the higher temperature, since he was not used to such a soft and bouncy mattress, but things had gone better since then. Yet this time he was cold and couldn’t sleep.

Then he remembered what John had said that morning. Hopefully the fact that he had mentioned it meant that he wouldn’t mind if Brian went down to join him. And even if he didn’t mean that, Brian wasn’t going to get any sleep just tossing and turning in his cold room.

So, Brian quietly got out of bed and crept down the hallway and descended the stairs. He noticed the difference in temperature as soon as he reached the basement room. Despite being under the ground inside an old farmhouse, it seemed well-insulated and not as damp as he expected.

Brian sat down in the chair by the wall at one side of the room for a while, but he couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep in that upright position. John hadn’t stirred, so maybe he wouldn’t notice if Brian lay down next to him in bed. It looked firmer than the mattress up in Brian’s room.

Brian got up from the chair and lifted the corner of the blanket on the side of the bed. It didn’t seem to have as much room for him up close, but he had committed now. He heard a little murmur, and thought he might have woken John up.

“Shift over,” Brian whispered. A bit of space on the mattress was made for him. Brian made himself at home. He was happy not to feel the mattress sag under him when he lay down and he contentedly fell asleep.

* * *

Brian woke up from the most restful sleep he’d had in days. He rolled over to see if John was still asleep next to him, hoping that would be the case so that he could sneak away unnoticed.

“Freddie?!”

Brian bolted upright and looked across Freddie to see John beginning to stir.

“What’s going on?” John grumbled as he rubbed one eye groggily. “Brian? When did you get here?”

“I came down here last night. When did Freddie get here?”

“He’s been sleeping in here for the last two nights because his room was cold,” John replied.

“That’s why _I_ came down,” Brian said. “I asked for you to make room in the bed for me and you did.”

“No, I didn’t,” said John.

“You must have done it in your sleep. You definitely moved over to let me in.”

“That would have been me,” said Freddie, finally joining the conversation instead of lying there pretending to still be asleep. “It was very cozy between the two of you.”

“I was wondering why the bed seemed so cramped last night,” John said. “I thought it was just Freddie taking up space.”

“Does this mean that one of us can’t stay tomorrow night?” Freddie asked, looking as if he would be saddened by the prospect.

“I think it does,” Brian said. “And it’s not going to be me.”

* * *

Roger woke to the sounds of Brian, John, and Freddie bickering as usual, albeit a bit loudly for breakfast time. Ready for some breakfast, himself, he got out of bed and headed down to the kitchen to join them.

He was surprised to find that the sounds were not actually coming from the kitchen, but from the basement. The only room he knew about down there was John’s bedroom, but it seemed like an odd place to hang out. Still, he headed down the stairs. When he saw what was going on, he stopped at the bottom step and stood there in surprise.

“What the hell is going on?” Roger asked in surprise.

Brian and Freddie each had a pillow in their hands and were beating each other with them. John was sitting on the edge of the bed watching them and grinning. When Brian and Freddie heard Roger, they both suddenly stopped, turned, pointed at each other and spoke in unison.

“He started it.”

Roger looked at them, then over at John. John shrugged. Roger shook his head.

* * *

 

John had hoped that by the end the day, Brian and Freddie would have decided who had won their pillow fight, but when it came time to retire for the night neither of them would accept defeat. And so, Freddie and Brian headed downstairs while Roger and John went upstairs.

John lay in Freddie’s bed and tried to sleep. But as the lights went out in the house, John found he could not get comfortable.

The room was too cold.

He tossed and turned for he didn’t know how long before giving up on this futile endeavor. After getting out of bed, he grabbed the pillow with one hand, then picked up and threw the covers over his shoulder before going downstairs.

Brian and Freddie were already fast asleep in John’s nice, warm, bed. He shook his head as he arranged the blankets and pillow on the floor before lying down.

The floor was hard, but at least he wasn’t cold. But he knew one thing for certain; he wasn’t doing this again.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to the bedroom shenanigans, with Roger finally participating.

Roger woke up to silence all through the house. He couldn’t hear any noises coming from the other rooms or the kitchen. He thought maybe he had woken up early, before everyone else. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was around the same time he usually got up, when the rest of the band would be having breakfast.

He got out of bed and looked in the door of Freddie’s room. John had brought the bedding back up to the room after his night on the floor and made Freddie’s bed for him. But Freddie wasn’t there, now. Roger went over to Brian’s room and it was empty, too. He had a suspicion that he knew what was going on.

Tiptoeing in his stocking feet, Roger went down the stairs and peeked into John’s room. He, Freddie, and Brian were crowded in the bed and fast asleep.

Roger grinned at the sight and shook his head.

He went back upstairs and thought about making some breakfast. But then he had a better idea.

Roger put on his shoes and snuck out to the studio. He went behind his drum kit and retrieved the gong. Careful not to bump into anything with the instrument, he snuck back into the house, took off his shoes again, and crept down the stairs.

Standing at the foot of the bed, where the three had still not stirred, he raised his mallet and gave the gong a generous whack.

The three nearly hit the ceiling as they sprang upright. Roger laughed so hard he almost lost his balance and nearly dropped the gong.

“Good morning!” he exclaimed.

“What the hell, Roger?” John groaned.

“You three looked like you’d gotten too comfortable down here,” Roger replied matter-of-factly.

“You know this requires retaliation, right?” Brian teased.

“Maybe,” Roger said. “I’ll be watching that you don’t put anything funny in my coffee.”

“Rog! You saw right through my plan!” said Freddie.

“Yeah?” Roger retorted. “Did your plan include this?”

With that, Roger placed the gong on the floor, then vaulted himself onto the bed and began to wrestle with Freddie. Brian tried to pull Roger off of Freddie, but he rolled over onto John instead, who proceeded to push Roger off of him and back towards Brian. Things continued in much the same way until they were all laughing so hard they could barely breathe. They resigned themselves to lying on the bed motionless until they had all caught their breath.

They kept laughing and teasing as they all headed upstairs together. Paul was standing by the window with a cup of coffee when they finally arrived at the kitchen.

“What’s this all about?” he asked.

Freddie replied simply, “You had to be there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this bit of silliness. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.


End file.
